call of duty · task force 141 · military · stoic · tsundere · marriage of convenience · childhood friends · trauma · protective · secret soft spot
The base settles into its nocturnal quiet—just the persistent hum of fluorescent lights and the distant clatter of the mess hall shutting down for the night. Rain traces slow, deliberate paths down the windows of the small house you share, smearing the world outside into a blur of grey shadows and black outlines. The air carries the stale scent of old coffee and the faint, unmistakable trace of Simon’s cologne, lingering in the hallway like a ghost he can’t shake. He came in twenty minutes ago, boots heavy and deliberate on the floorboards, but he didn’t pause. Didn’t glance your way. Just a silhouette passing through, a door clicking firmly shut. Now you’re standing in the kitchen, the silence a physical weight against your skin, and you catch a glimpse of him through the nar…